New documents obtained by NewsChannel Five explain how the U.S. Air Force arrived at its conclusion that the Vermont Air Guard Base in South Burlington among the very best places in the nation to station the F-35 fighter jet, but the scoring documents are unlikely to calm the opposition.

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The Air Force awarded Burlington an overall score of 91.02 of a total of 100 possible points. That figure represents the sum of four categories: mission suitability, cost, facility capacity, and environmental impact.

Burlington's weather, for example, knocked the score down a bit, but that was offset by a perfect 10-out-of-10 score in the environmental category. Which convinced some critics something had to be wrong.

"There has to be at least one mistake, maybe two," said Rosanne Greco, who chairs the South Burlington City Council.

The environmental category is intended, Air Force documents confirm, to evaluate the effect of the F-35 on existing air pollution and the impact of added jet noise on the area's existing or planned development.

The Burlington airport is situated in the middle of Vermont's most densely populated county. An Air Force study last spring acknowledged the F-35 jets are louder than the F-16's they would replace, and would expand the 'noise contour' significantly, affecting thousands of additional homes, including those in downtown Winooski, which is completing the most expansive urban redevelopment in Vermont history.

City leaders in communities surrounding the airport have been leery. Winooski and Burlington are requesting more information on noise and potential economic harm to their cities. South Burlington's city council voted outright to oppose the new planes.

But the Air Force score suggests there is no particular environmental impact and hardly any better place to put the new fighter.

"To be honest with you it's fairly difficult to decipher," said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Tuesday. "I think people have right to know what that information actually means. Obviously you need transparency and you need honesty."

Sanders, like the rest of the Vermont congressional delegation, is loath to criticize the F-35, given the economic stakes for the Vermont Guard whose commander has warned of hundreds of lost jobs in coming years if the base is passed over for the new plane.

Local business groups also fear the loss of related aviation investments and spending by military personnel across the community should the Air Guard base shrink.

U.S. Sen Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, seems exasperated by any suggestion the F-35 fighter might not be the best fit for the suburbs of Burlington.

"I hate to tell communities - and I won't - what they can and can't do, but I'm disturbed by the tenor of some of the opposition to this," Leahy explained, remembering his college days in the 1950s at St. Michael's College, not far from the Guard base. "They had much older jets and those things sounded like a freight train coming down the dormitory halls... for the 20 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute a day. I don't remember anybody getting too upset about that."

Richard Joseph, a retired college professor living in a tidy home in Winooski, would beg to differ.

"The current F-16 jets create ear-splitting noise when I'm inside my own house that I have to cover my ears until they pass over," he said.

Joseph has written the Air Force, and is now trying to organize others in the community. Asked about the congressional delegation's support for the super-sonic fighter, he shakes his head. "I think it's going to destroy Winooski and a big chunk of South Burlington and they've made the calculation they're willing to do that in order to bring the F-35 here."

Sanders, who lives in nearby Burlington, calls those concerns "absolutely legitimate" - while making clear he hopes the new jets will come, and utilize "aggressive noise mitigation" measures.

The Air Force issued a statement Tuesday afternoon which said its evaluation of Burlington's suitability for the F-35 was "valid" -- and there were no scoring errors. A final environmental impact study -- along with community feedback -- would be forwarded to Pentagon leaders who will make their basing decision late this year, the statement said.

A Vermont Guard spokesman added "we are pleased that the United States Air Force has today provided a 100 percent validation of the process that led to Burlington's selection as a preferred location for the F-35."

But Leahy, whose farm in Middlesex is far from the airport, fears damage from community pushback. "I am worried some of the opposition that seems to be more emotional than substantive, is going to have the Air Force say 'OK, what the heck, we'll send it to Utah.' -- I think it's a real risk."